Pages

Monday, May 16, 2011

Books, books, and more books

Can anyone ever have too many books? I guess that's a rhetorical question since I love to read and always have.

My love of reading started as a little girl. My earliest favorite books that I can remember were the Winnie the Pooh stories. I couldn't put them down. At night, after I had said my prayers and got tucked into bed, I'd pull out a flashlight and the book I had hidden between the mattresses and read under the covers. Mom quickly caught on and I soon had to find a new hiding spot.

I went on to read all the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden books I could get my hands on. And of course there were CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. I read so much that in fifth grade I once got in trouble. Sr Mary Jean told me if I read less and studied more I would have gotten an A on my geography test instead of a B+.

Every other week we would go to the library and I'd bring a stack of books home. And, if I finished reading my books before the two weeks was over, I'd start on my dad's. I can remember reading Surgeon Under the Knife, I Am Third, and a bunch of books by Dorothy Fuldheim when I was in junior high. If he couldn't find his books he knew where to look!

These days I've got a number of favorite authors I like to read. My favorites as far as popular fiction goes include James Patterson, Catherine Coulter, Mariah Stewart, Mary Higgins Clark and Janet Evanovich. I've also been reading some oldies, but certainly timeless, books by CS Lewis, Hilaire Belloc and GK Chesterton. I have lots to say about those three that I'll leave what I think to another post.

I've discovered a few new (to me) authors that are not only great writers but tell stories from a faithful, positive, Catholic perspective. I met Regina Doman at the Chesterton conference last summer and have since devoured all of her books. Her books are geared towards teens but are intelligent and complex enough that adults will like them also. She has adapted a number of fairy tales to modern day times and handles delicate subjects with sensitivity. Michelle Buckman is similar, though her books are thoroughly adult.